Shoyu Chicken

I only began to eat shoyu chicken when I arrived in Hawaii. To be quite honest, I am a breast man — chicken breast, that is. At first, it grossed me out to bite into a chicken thigh; seems that them veins are everywhere! It wasn’t love at first bite; chicken thighs were a dish I had learned to like. Chicken thighs were at almost every potluck, in the school cafeterias, on plate lunches. I didn’t even like fried chicken thighs for the same reason. Chicken thighs were inexpensive and a frozen 5-pound box on sale could not only feed many, but it also fit any budget back then.

When we first moved to Hawaii, we stayed with my Chinese grandparents and grandpa did all the cooking. I remember his versions of this dish. They were tasty, well balanced with savory shoyu and sugar. This is where I learned how to like shoyu chicken, mainly because I didn’t want to disappoint my grandpa, so I ate almost everything he gave me. I didn’t get to meet my Japanese grandpa, so when I met my Chinese grandpa, I was so attached to him that everyone called me his shadow. He was a good cook and I often wonder how our conversations might have been about cooking after I began my career.

I once saw shoyu chicken at a luau on the buffet, and wondered why it was on the menu. Was it a Hawaiian dish? Was it Chinese, Japanese, Okinawan, Korean? How is it related to shoyu beef or pork? I learned that the Okinawans have rafute, the Japanese have kakuni and the Chinese have kau yuk. My first memory of burnt shoyu and sugar on a grill was when I was 4 years old, eating yakitori in Japan. I later learned that I liked teriyaki meat in Hawaii once I got here at age 5; the combination of shoyu and sugar in cooking is something we grow up with.

Fast-forward to today, I am still a breast man, but I don’t care about them veins anymore, as I just pretend I don’t see them. Cooking with shoyu can be simple, like most of it is in Hawaii, or you can get very serious about it like some Japanese chefs, who add it only toward the end of cooking, as to keep the aroma of shoyu alive. I also am interested in the Chinese pork belly dish called “Hong Shao Rou,” which calls for rock candy, some star anise and secret ingredients. I watch my mom cook and note especially how she uses the combination of shoyu and either sugar or mirin. It is her technique of boiling the meat in water first, shoyu sake and mirin later, that inspired one of the most popular dishes on the menu at our restaurant, which was soy-braised short ribs.

There are many different kinds of soy sauce — every Asian country has their own, each with their unique nuances. Soy sauce is not just soy sauce; it can be made with such care and pride. Cooking with it is one thing, using it as a condiment, or making a sauce with it is another; it depends on what kind of soy sauce you are using. I would like to go to China again and visit all the regions with a new perspective on cooking with shoyu. For that matter, Okinawa, Korea, and Japan, of course.

Shoyu chicken in every country!

Chef and restaurateur Alan Wong has wowed diners around the world for decades, and is known as one of the founders of Hawaii Regional Cuisine. Find his column in Crave every first Wednesday. Currently, Wong is dba Alan Wong’s Consulting Co.